Eileen realized that although Amelia was simply standing in front of her, her position was a critical nodal point. No matter where Eileen tried to escape—up, down, left, right—Amelia would react in time to block her.
There was no path left to retreat!
Her Majesty has truly grown. Her positioning is excellent. Am I going to lose?
A sense of defeat washed over Eileen.
This wasn’t just the frustration of losing and facing punishment; it was a blow to her confidence in her own abilities. If she could be defeated so easily, what could she offer to protect Her Majesty in the future?
But just as these thoughts arose, words Amelia had spoken to her in the past suddenly surfaced in her mind.
“I have always trusted Eileen implicitly. I hope Eileen can also have sufficient confidence in herself.”
“Eileen, don’t underestimate yourself. How could you be useless? You are very important to me.”
“Eileen, you must believe in your potential. I feel you can reach the peak of this continent and overlook the entire world.”
Those words Amelia had once said, each and every one, surfaced clearly like a gentle stream.
As those words echoed in her mind, Eileen’s expression solidified into one of resolve.
Yes. Her Majesty trusted her so much. How could she possibly disappoint her? It was too early to admit defeat before the outcome was decided!
Eileen moved.
Which direction should she choose to escape? Up, down, left, right?
Without overthinking, Eileen feinted to the left, then quickly shifted and dashed to the right. That leftward lunge was a decoy!
She darted right, but at that moment, Amelia had also shifted to the right. The feint hadn’t deceived her at all.
As expected of Her Majesty.
Seeing her decoy fail, Eileen’s heart tightened. But now that she had committed to this action, there was no changing it.
Even if this direction was wrong, she could no longer alter course.
“Whoosh!”
Eileen leaped out. She could clearly feel Amelia’s hands closing in, about to wrap around her and hold her tight.
Faster!
Just a bit faster!
Eileen chanted silently in her heart, and as if her inner voice had some magical effect, her speed actually increased dramatically. In a flash, she shot past Amelia’s line of sight, successfully evading her and appearing behind her.
“This…”
The situation left Amelia dumbfounded.
Just a moment ago, she was almost certain she could catch Eileen. Why, at that critical moment, did Eileen’s movement speed surge so abruptly?
Does this make sense?
This doesn’t make sense!
Amelia spun around to look at Eileen, only to see her looking somewhat dazed as well.
“Eileen, what was that just now?” Amelia asked, somewhat unwilling to accept the outcome.
She was on the verge of winning, but Eileen’s speed inexplicably increased. Had Eileen been holding back her full power this whole time?
She had been working tirelessly for days for this victory, only to see success snatched away at the last second. Naturally, she felt a bit dejected.
Hearing Amelia’s question, Eileen’s expression shifted. She answered with some hesitation, “I think… I think I broke through to the High-Rank Apostle stage?”
“What did you say?”
“I think I broke through.”
“???”
Amelia stared at Eileen, dumbfounded.
Broke through?
High-Rank Apostle?
If she remembered correctly, Eileen was supposed to break through on November 20th, wasn’t she? Today was only October 23rd. Had she broken through a month early or something?
[Nani?! Eileen broke through? That’s almost a month early?]
[Why did Eileen break through just like that?]
[This isn’t the route of the original plot. It’s a different route. Eileen’s advancement timing can be earlier or later, that should be plausible, right?]
[Could it be that Amelia put enough pressure on Eileen to force a breakthrough?]
[Good grief, I thought Eileen would fail this time and get punished by Amelia, but she actually broke through… Eileen is already a High-Rank Apostle, how can Amelia possibly catch her now.]
[Amelia (despair)!]
[Surprise, Amelia! You thought you won, but Eileen broke through.]
[What a delightful outcome.]
Amelia looked at the bullet comments, then back at Eileen.
Breaking through early?
Such things could happen?
Amelia didn’t know whether to feel joy or frustration.
Eileen advancing to the High-Rank Apostle stage ahead of schedule was absolutely good news for her. From that perspective, she should be delighted.
But Eileen’s breakthrough also meant that in this chase training game between them, she had suffered a total defeat.
Catching Eileen as a Mid-Rank Apostle had required all her effort and so much time. As a High-Rank Apostle, how could she possibly catch her?
After a series of thoughts flashed through her mind, Amelia turned and walked to the bed.
“Miss Lily.”
Eileen instinctively followed.
Amelia reached the bed and flopped directly onto it, chest first, her rear slighty raised. “Go ahead, Eileen.”
“Miss Lily, what is this…” Eileen was at a loss.
“What else would it be? You’re already a High-Rank Apostle. Do I have any chance of winning? The outcome is already decided. Let’s just get it over with.” Amelia was giving up.
Faced with a clearly impossible task, she naturally lost her motivation to continue. She might as well honestly accept her punishment.
Watching Amelia’s posture on the bed, Eileen felt a bit embarrassed.
But her previous experience taught her that once Amelia had decided to accept the punishment, any hesitation on her part was useless. It was just a waste of time.
She should be decisive!
With that thought, Eileen stepped forward, raised her hand just like last time, and brought it down.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
A rhythmic sound echoed through the bedroom.
Along with the punishment, a strange sensation emanated from the point of contact between Amelia and Eileen’s hand. A tingling, numbing feeling that flushed Amelia’s pretty face crimson.
She felt so humiliated.
At this moment, she absolutely dared not look at the bullet comments. Heaven knows what strange things they’d be saying. They were definitely making fun of her. She absolutely couldn’t look.
As long as I don’t look, the bullet comments aren’t laughing at me!
With this ostrich mentality, Amelia covered her face and buried her head, letting Eileen punish her.
But after more than twenty spanks, Amelia couldn’t help but turn her head to look back at Eileen, her eyes welling up with tears as she puffed out her cheeks. “Eileen, isn’t that enough? You punished me so many times. You weren’t doing it on purpose, were you?”
“No, no, I just didn’t know how many times was appropriate… I… I wasn’t doing it on purpose.” Eileen immediately stopped her hand and took a few steps back, flustered.
“Well, if it wasn’t on purpose, that’s fine. The punishment ends here anyway.” Amelia said, quickly sitting up.
Watching Amelia’s teary-eyed expression, Eileen’s fingers subconsciously clutched the hem of her maid outfit.
Her Majesty is so cute.
One carriage after another traveled along the countryside road. The procession was very quiet, with only the sound of turning wheels.
Though the autumn sun was bright, it was late autumn, so the temperature wasn’t as high as summer, making it quite bearable.
The occasional autumn breeze made it feel especially cool.
They were nearing Bild City.
Inside one carriage, the curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man looked into the distance with this thought in mind.
He had deep purple hair and eyes, a firm, resolute face, and a natural, imposing aura. One look at him, and anyone could tell he had long held a high position of authority.
He was Rupert Ross!
After looking outside, Rupert lowered the curtain, his gaze sweeping the interior of the carriage before landing on a blue-eyed girl with long, wavy golden hair.
“Lord Ross,” the girl said nervously as she saw Rupert looking at her.
“What did you call me?” Rupert’s brow immediately furrowed.
His tone made the girl tense up. She then spoke cautiously, “Rupert, are we almost at Bild City?”
Rupert’s frown deepened. “Your Majesty, I have told you many times, you are now Amelia Steele, Queen of the Steele Kingdom. Even though the kingdom has fallen, you are still the Queen. You must possess the aura befitting a queen. If you cannot imitate this well, how will you deceive the others?”
At this point, Rupert felt a bit helpless.
When he first found this person, actually named Valerie Gissing, to play the role of Amelia Steele, she had done a decent job as per his instructions. After all, she was a theater actress and had acting skills. But as time passed, she started to get scared. Was it because of the ever-increasing attention?
He couldn’t change the actress now, so he could only say a few words of encouragement.
Faced with Rupert’s words, Valerie could only nod repeatedly.
It was natural for her to be afraid. After all, she was originally just an unknown theater actress, chosen solely because she shared the same long hair and eye color as the Queen of the Fallen Kingdom.
Now, Valerie could feel the countless gazes fixed on her, gazes meant for Amelia, now all falling on her. The pressure was immense.
“Anyway, there must be no slip-ups on this trip to Bild City. You must remember, at every moment, that you are Amelia Steele,” Rupert said sternly.
Valerie could only nod.
After instructing Valerie, Rupert sat to the side and closed his eyes to rest.
But not long after, he felt the carriage stop. He frowned slightly and stepped out.
“What’s going on?”
After stepping out, Rupert scanned the surroundings.
Hearing his question, someone immediately approached to explain the situation. “Count, a fallen tree ahead is blocking the road, obstructing our path. Clearing it will take some time.”
Upon hearing this, Rupert’s expression grew serious. “Be vigilant while clearing. Someone might have deliberately waylaid us here to make a move. We can’t be careless.”
“Yes, Count.”
The men accepted the order.
After giving the order, Rupert looked around.
He recalled that when bandits wanted to rob a passing merchant caravan, a common tactic was to fell trees across the road, forcing the caravan to stop, then using the opportunity to strike.
The sight in front of him inevitably reminded him of this.
If it was just bandits, then fine. But if it wasn’t, the situation was even more worthy of deep consideration.
With this in mind, Rupert raised his head, his gaze sweeping over several mounted individuals surrounding the carriage. He gave them a few meaningful looks, and they nodded almost imperceptibly back.
My true Queen, could it be you, making this move against the one impersonating you? If so, nothing could please me more. For everything I do is precisely to draw you out, to eliminate future troubles.
Your Majesty, do not blame me for being so ruthless. My entire family has already relocated to the Akti Kingdom, and from now on, I will only be a subject of Akti. You… are no longer my Queen.
His eyes flickering, Rupert hardened certain convictions in his heart.
Just then…
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
A sudden gale swept through. Caught completely off guard, Rupert was blown to the ground. The entire convoy was thrown into chaos, people and horses tumbling over, cries of alarm ringing out.
Where did this wind come from?
After falling to the ground, Rupert shielded his face with his hand, his mind racing.
The power of wind? Someone wielding this power had undoubtedly placed their Faith in the Bard’s Bow… An Elf had appeared?
But why an Elf?
Before Rupert could figure it out, cries of agony rang out nearby. He heard many familiar voices, the voices of the powerful Apostles who had been guarding the carriage moments before.
Upon hearing those sounds, he instinctively tried to force himself up but wisely chose to lie back down.
What is going on? Is this force on Amelia’s side? Did she manage to involve Elves somehow? And this Elf’s strength is terrifyingly high, isn’t it? Those were Apostle elites from the Akti Kingdom, even High-Rank Apostles… are they no match?
Lying on the ground, Rupert felt a chill in his heart.
He lay there motionless, not daring even to lift his head. Only after a long while, when the gale around him had subsided, did he dare raise his head to observe the surroundings.
The procession had been devastated by the sudden wind assault. People lay scattered everywhere, groaning in pain. Many horses were neighing wildly. Dust swirled in clouds around knee height.
Rupert scrambled to his feet, somewhat disheveled, and rushed to the carriage, pulling the curtain aside.
Right now, Valerie lay in a pool of blood, blood still flowing freely from a wound on her neck. She was already dead.
Dropping the curtain, Rupert looked around at the fallen Apostle elites of the Akti Kingdom beside the carriage. His expression shifted rapidly.
With this turn of events… what should he do?
